Local 913, Episode 50: Crooked Skulls

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In 2012, Daniel Lechok formed the all-instrumental band Crooked Skulls after he and his friend Abe Looper were just messing around playing music in his home studio. The two realized that they enjoyed playing and writing together and eventually released the extremely atmospheric EP, Distract Me While I Drown in 2015. Lechok has long had an interest in rhythmic and experimental music:

“I started playing drums when I was 5 or 6. I was lucky enough to have parents who were really into music. My first CD was a hip-hop CD that was given to me for free, so I got into hip-hop and rhythm. We were driving past a drum store and I went in to sign up for lessons and it kind of went from there. In 2005, I heard a Phillip Glass song; it was a piece of his music that was on top of a film. That really struck me. It was a really minimal thing. Since then, I’ve been trying to capture that feeling I got from that in my own style with the different kind of music that I like.”

While there is interest to add vocals with new band member, David Muñoz, Lechok explains the lack of a singer on the EP:

“It’s been about trying to progress a song and make it climatic without using vocals from start to finish. That’s been our goal. That’s what makes it fun for us; to use instruments to make that happen.”